There is a proverb that says “what you behold you become.” I think that is exactly what the current wave of negative news is doing to us all, it makes us negative. We are bombarded with news about Covid-19, corrupt politicians, rioters that want to bring the economy to a standstill (as if it is not bad enough yet) and racism blown up to unprecedented proportions whilst most of us just want to carry on with our work in the hope to rescue what is left of our failing economy.
Let us build
What can we do to turn the tide so that the looters and destroyers would rather direct their energy towards the building and upliftment of our country? This would mean to channel their energy in a different direction. But something like that does not happen because some columnist or perhaps a politician tells them that there is a better way of doing things. They need a change of heart, because unless the motivation for where to apply your energy changes, nothing will change. It is indeed a matter of the heart.
Doing good works
The Bible teaches “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph 2:10)
God wants us to apply our energy to do good works, which means building and not destroying.
I recently watched a program on TV of a couple who got involved with youngsters who were basically illiterate and already 12 to 15 years of age and on a road towards crime and destruction. Because the couple realised the youngsters were too old to go to grade one or two where they could learn to read and write, they needed some other way to get the kids involved in something positive; into some “good works.”
Therefore they arranged for the youngsters to get skills training like gardening, woodwork, welding, etc. What a remarkable turnaround for the kids who themselves acknowledged that previously they were on a road of self-destruction.
# Quest for the high road
Many years ago (±1990) I saw a video of Clem Sunter speaking about the quest for the high road. He described two scenarios for the future of South Africa namely a high road and a low road.
The features of the high road included a small government, decentralized power and joint negotiation and synergy. The low road had the opposite characteristics. The growth rates foreseen with these scenarios were startlingly different, with the high road that could have delivered annual growth rates as high as 10% per annum, with the low road leading steadily downwards toward economic stagnation.
Where do we find ourselves?
Looking at where we find ourselves at present, it seems that we’ve come a long way on the low road and that we’re close to rock bottom; and yet we are digging.
Instead of denying businesses the opportunity to do business, why not put in the effort to rather get more places open and people working.
Unfortunately our country is divided between people who want to work and build the economy and those who want to destroy what fellow countrymen are building. Scripture teaches us that “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” (Mat 12:25)
So, let us therefore direct our energy towards building up and let us encourage our fellow countrymen to do likewise. Our only hope for the future is if we can work together to rebuild our shattered economy and let us pray as Jesus taught us to petition in The Lord’s Prayer “… deliver us from the evil one…” and may God have mercy on us. (Mat 6:13)
Do you feel like a square peg in a round hole in your job or business and you don’t know why? If that is you, a Career Direct Assessment (available online) will help you understand. It will not only show who you are, but will also point you in the right direction.
